A color filter is an essential constituent component of a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a solid-state imaging device (such as CCD or CMOS).
When compared with a CRT as a display apparatus, a liquid crystal display is compact, and is equivalent or superior in terms of performance. Thus, liquid crystal displays are substituting the traditional CRT's as the display unit of television screens, personal computer screens and other display apparatuses. Recently, the technological trend for liquid crystal displays is shifting from the conventional monitor applications where the screens have relatively small surface areas, toward TV applications where screens are large and high image quality is demanded.
In LCD color filter applications, the size of the substrate is enlarging for the use in large-screen TV's. Thus, for an enhancement of productivity in the case of using large-size substrates, curable compositions that can be cured with low energy are desirable as the curable compositions used for forming colored pixels (that is, color filters) for red (R), green (G), blue (B) and the like.
Furthermore, liquid crystal displays for TV applications are required to have higher image quality as compared with those for conventional monitor applications. That is, an enhancement of contrast and color purity is required. Therefore, in view of enhancing contrast, a curable composition that is used in the formation of a colored pixel (color filter) is required to use a colorant (such as an organic pigment) having a finer particle size (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Accordingly, there is a tendency that the amount of addition of a dispersant for pigment dispersion increases. Furthermore, in view of enhancing color purity, it is required that the content ratio of the colorant (such as an organic pigment) occupying in the solids content of the curable composition be higher. Accordingly, there is a tendency that the content ratios of the photopolymerization initiator and photopolymerizable monomer occupying in the solid components of the curable composition relatively decrease.
On the other hand, in regard to the color filter applications for solid-state imaging devices, reduction of pattern film thickness is in progress, and consequently, the pigment concentration in the curable composition is increasing along. Furthermore, as the pigment particles are becoming finer, the proportion of the pigment dispersant in the curable composition also tends to increase. Therefore, the content ratios of photopolymerization initiators and photopolymerizable monomers are relatively reduced.
As discussed above, for both the liquid crystal display applications and the solid-state imaging device applications, since the content ratios of the photopolymerization initiator and photopolymerizable monomer, which are essential components necessary for curing a curable composition, are limited while the pigment concentration is increasing, the adhesiveness between the curable composition and an inorganic base material that serves as a substrate is insufficient. Furthermore, formation of a desired pattern is becoming markedly difficult.
In this connection, a technology of introducing a silane coupling agent in order to enhance the adhesiveness to an inorganic substrate, has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 3 and 4). There has also been proposed a technology of introducing a primary amine or secondary amine-based silane coupling agent, as a technology for preventing development residues in areas that should be essentially developed and removed (unexposed areas in a negative type) (see, for example, Patent Document 5).    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-30541    [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-127602    [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent No. 2874091    [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-38226    [Patent Document 5] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-35670